Originally Posted by
susiesan
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Are there numbers and lines painted on the train platforms that correspond to where the car number will stop, like in Japan? I can just see us running like mad down a train platform, dragging luggage, among a throng of people to get on to the correct car if it stops farther down from where we happen to be standing. Since Chinese don't seem to wait in lines, it looks like it's every man/woman for himself to board the trains.
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Correct assessment, it's every person for themselves. Best not to take any luggage along that you can't manage yourself. I've never seen any platform guide numbers to tell you where to stand, but usually at the largest stations and at origin stations, the train is already at the platform before passengers are allowed to access it. Carriage numbers will be on the outside and are sequential so looking at any two adjacent carriages, it's pretty obvious whether you should head one way or the other to get to your own.
I'm going to keep my luggage in sight. I'll have the hubbster hoist it up onto the overhead racks by our seats; I'm not leaving it at the end of the cars to potentially be at significant risk to be stolen.
It's physically impossible for large luggage (say 24"+) to fit in the overhead racks on most trains. And you're not going to be able to keep it in the aisles, unless you are at one of the ends where there is one less seat therefore some additional floor space. On day trains, I've put my oversized in the open luggage closets/racks at the car ends, and never had a problem with theft. But then, I'm not packing valuables in that luggage. On sleeper cars especially in soft sleeper, you have more leeway to park that luggage on the floor space in your own compartment.